Academic

Honors Program

Mount Saint Mary College offers an honors program with credit.
Admission into the program is by invitation from the Honors Program
Coordinator.

Incoming freshmen qualify on the basis of exemplary high school
records, a composite score on college proficiency exams and SAT's
that indicate the student's ability to meet the rigors and
challenges of honors-level course work. Students can be invited
subsequent to admission to the college provided they have achieved
a 3.4 GPA after a minimum of 15 credits taken at MSMC and are
recommended to the program by an MSMC faculty member. Academically
able transfer students are also invited to join the honors
program.

The Honors Program comprises academic, cultural and social
activities, each of which complements and reinforces the others.
While designed for traditional undergraduate students, the program
is open to non-traditional students.

Honors students must maintain a cumulative grade index of 3.4 to
continue in the program. If a student's cumulative average falls
below 3.4 at the end of a given semester, he/she may be continued
as an honors student for up to two semesters with the coordinator's
approval, if the cumulative average is at least 3.1. To complete
the honors program, the student must have acquired at least 18
honors credits (six courses) and have achieved the minimum of a 3.4
cumulative average. In completing program requirements, honors
students regularly consult with academic advisers and the Honors
Program Coordinator.

First Year Honors Program Experience

The first-year freshman honors program is exciting and rewarding
in so many ways: it gives students access to some of the College's
most effective and dedicated full-time professors and it enables
the student to bond with his/her peers - with students who are
similarly motivated.

Honors students are placed in one or two designated freshman
honors sections, such as HON ENGLISH 1010, College Writing (3
credits); HON ENGLISH 1020, Forms of Literature (3 credits); HON
PSYCHOLOGY 1030, General Psychology (3 credits); and/or HON
PHILOSOPHY 1020, Logic (3 credits). While each of these courses
covers the same content as regular, non-honors credit courses in
these areas, additional readings and assignments are assigned in
the honors designated sections.

Honors Program Housing

Resident freshmen who are accepted into the College’s honors
program are assigned special housing in consideration of their
status as student-scholars. Housing is shared with other honors
students, thereby helping to assure an optimum environment for
study, and positive and supportive interaction; also, unlike
non-honors housing, bedrooms in suites are limited to dual
occupancy.

Honors Freshmen Field Experiences

During the freshman year, several honors field experiences are
provided to program participants. Traditional field experiences
have included trips by coach to New York City to see plays on and
off Broadway and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.